Complexity heats up LCS playoff race

Complexity made the playoff race much more interesting today when they beat Curse Gaming in the opening match of the Super Week.

The victory gives Complexity a 9-16 record, pulling them just one game behind the 10-15 Curse Gaming in the race for the sixth available playoff spot. It also brings the two teams even in head-to-head record, meaning a tie on the season would send the two into a tie-breaker to decide their playoff fate.

Curse Gaming put their eggs in one basket for this important match: the Kog’Maw of David “Cop” Roberson. They put together a lineup featuring Lulu in top, Orianna in middle, Nunu in jungle, and Morgana in bottom, all champions with useful buffs and protections for the late game hyper carry marksman.

But Complexity was prepared, scoring two early kills in bottom lane and leveraging that advantage into early towers.

Curse Gaming would fight back by catching out Complexity in the jungle, but when Curse tried to take an advantage off the play by taking Baron, Complexity turned the tides with an amazing reversal.

Top laner Jonathan “Westrice” Nguyen and his Maokai kept Curse at bay, giving jungler Kevin “Kez” Jeon just enough time to arrive thanks to his homeguard boots.

Complexity would bully Curse out of Baron and take it for themselves, staving off a Curse counterattack to give them an advantage. They would leverage that advantage into more towers, map control, and eventually the victory.

The match was incredibly important for Complexity’s playoff chances, as the team essentially gained two games against their closest rival, but don’t tell that to mid laner Neil “PR0LLY” Hammad. “I have no clue what the standings look like so the importance of each match,” he said, in his post-game interview. “Every one is the same. We just need to win.”

Complexity coach Kublai “Kubz” Barlas used an interesting analogy to describe his coaching style before the match, saying that some players need the “bowl of whipped cream” and some the “bowl of poop”. It’s a colorful proxy for the carrot-or-the-stick metaphor used to decribe motivation tactics.

Hammad says he’s more of a whipped cream guy, but whichever Barlas is giving Complexity, it seems to be working. The team has steadily improved throughout the season, and now has a legitimate shot at a playoff spot, something no one thought was possible at the start of the split.